Kat Eye Studio

Archives for December 2010

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It Takes a Village

Welcome to Legano. Located in the north of Italy, in my son’s bedroom. Legano is a Lego town, the name inspired by our visit to the town of Lugano, Switzerland, right after Christmas last year. Brandon came home from that day trip and started building this village with his Christmas Legos.

He hasn’t stopped since. A year later, the town is thriving, if different. It changes every day. Some days, it’s only a small detail added. Other days, it’s a complete overhaul. Every day, it is part of him processing our adventure here in Italy, dealing with it from the perspective of a 9 year old.

It started early in the year as we built the different buildings that every town needs. A commune (town hall), gelateria, pizzeria, school, hospital, police station, fire station. Sometimes I would help him build the buildings (I like building the buildings – the police station is my proudest accomplishment), and sometimes he would work on his own. The town changes and grows as he does.

After we visited Rome in the spring, an entire section of Roman ruins cropped up. (Good thing for those Indiana Jones sets!)
As I was studying for my Italian driver’s license, street signs and signals began to appear all over town, in abundance.
Friends houses have appeared and disappeared, as his friendships grew and changed – old friends moving away and new friends moving in.
There have been piazzas with umbrella covered tables in the summer. Airports with security and international destinations. Trains and trams and funiculars and buses.
There’s even me, with a camera in my hand.

If I ever wondered about the value of play time for children, that wondering for me, is over. When I see piles of trash heaped up in the streets (a la Naples, our latest trip) or have my son explain that the little Lego statue he’s showing me is The Discus Thrower, I know that this play is not just childhood fancy. This is where he processes and integrates all of these new things he sees all of the time, things that used to be outside of his experience. Legano provides, for him, what my photography and my blog provide for me.

Have you heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child?” I think, for the child, it is the a village of their own creation, where they raise themself and grow up whole.

The prompt for 9 Muses Musing today is VILLAGE. Tomorrow is SWEETS. I hope you’ll come join us!

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Into the Unknown

There is a place on my normal walking route in Parco di Monza, were I sometimes find myself in the middle of nowhere. On foggy mornings, all I can see is the path I am on and the empty field around it. I am suspended in a place where nothing else seems to exist.

Our journey through life can be like this too. We can find ourselves on a path, where all we can see is just a little bit right in front of us. The rest is utterly, completely unknown. The only thing to do, is to take one step forward, and then another, on the path that we can see clearly. We have to trust that the path that opens up before us will lead us to good things. Take the steps in faith.

I’ve been revisiting part of my creative journey recently, as I prepare the material for my Find Your Eye course. It has been an enlightening exercise. By looking back at my journey, I can see that each little step into the unknown was leading me exactly to this place, where I am today. I can see every action, leap of faith, “aha” moment clearly in retrospect. It all fits together, what was unknown is now known. The fog has cleared.

Do you know what I’ve learned, more than anything else, by retracing my steps along this journey? That whenever I find myself in the unknown – that place where I can’t see the end of the path – I need to just take the steps. Put one foot in front of the other, along the stretch that I can see in front of me. I can trust that all will be revealed in time, and it will be good.

Today the 9 Muses Musing prompt is JOURNEY. Tomorrow’s prompt is VILLAGE. Come by and share your journey, or visit the links to see those that are shared today.

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Le Campane

Le campane, or bells, are an everyday part of Italian life. Every where you turn, you see the bell towers or campanile. You hear the bells tolling regularly throughout the day. Every day. I hear them on my walk in the park in the morning, I hear them as I drive to work, I hear them everywhere, as we travel around Italy. And, on special occasions like Christmas Eve Midnight Mass, you can hear them clanging joyously from every direction, all at the same time. 
It’s not really the sound of the bells that are unique in Italy, it’s what the campanile symbolize: Community, home town. Each little town, or even sections within a city, have a strong pride in their little slice of the world. This sense of community pride is called campanilismo, which has no direct translation in English. It’s a sense of belonging to this place in the world, that this place is theirs, and it is the best there is. It is stronger than any sort of regional or national identity here in Italy. I found a great little summary of what it means and where it comes from here.
I’ve personally observed it, in my time here. When we talk to Italians in our travels, you get the sense of pride and belonging. Italy is not a mobile society, like we are in the US. Most people grow up and then live their entire adult lives in the same town or region, and it’s hard for them to fathom moving as much as we do in the US, much less moving abroad. My Italian colleagues here are on the more mobile side, they are from all over Italy and some have lived abroad as well. But still, when you get to talking about places to visit, beautiful places in Italy, food, wine – the campanilismo shows up. Their town is the most beautiful place in the world. Their food is the best food that you could ever taste. The rivalries between them are joking and in fun, but underlying it is the same strong sense of community that has persisted for hundreds of years.
Yesterday morning I went out to capture the closest bell tower, in our town of Vedano al Lambro. Just before this the bells were ringing their little hearts out. It was hard to get a good pictures, since it’s tucked along a tiny street, probably originally from medieval times, and there was construction scaffolding right in front of it. At this angle though, I was struck by the contrast of the roof adornments. The simple crosses on the church as compared to the antennae on the roof next door. A commentary on how society has changed through the years. And through it all, the campanile have stood, as a symbol of place like no other. 
Today’s 9 Muses Musing prompt is BELLS. Tomorrow’s prompt is JOURNEY. I hope you will join in! 

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Loving the Lights

I am so loving the lights around me! How about you? The reflection of all of the lights in this wineglass caught my eye, that’s what I was trying to capture in this restaurant in Sorrento. The background light bokeh, self-portrait in reflection and the memory of delicious wine were just bonuses that came along for the ride.

The 9 Muses Musing theme today is LIGHTS. It’s my day as muse, and I’m sponsoring a space in my class, Find Your Eye: A photo course with heart and soul, as the giveaway. I hope you will come by and link in or comment today for a chance to win the space.

Tomorrow’s theme is BELLS. See you then!

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The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Yesterday my fellow muse Suki asked a question to the Mortal Muses, “If you did a 365, what did you learn this year by doing it?” Initially, I dismissed the question because I didn’t do a 365. (For those of you who don’t know, a “365” is where you take a photo every day, for an entire year.) But then I realized that I do my own sort of daily photography practice, if a bit different.

A little over a year ago, in November 2009, I started posting a photo a day here on the blog. Up to that point my blogging had been sporadic, and I didn’t have much focus. I had all of these great pictures from our travels, but it was so overwhelming to think of editing and posting many of them to tell the stories. I wasn’t interested in writing about our daily lives or travels. Sorting through, editing and picking one favorite photo a day, however, was doable. I decided to try that.

This simple little decision has had a profound impact on me. Today I found myself journaling this in answer to Suki’s question, on what this simple daily practice has given me:

  • The discovery that photography is art. And I am an artist. I’ve been able to claim that title, grow confident in myself as an artist. Along with seeing myself as an artist, I see my work as art.
  • Finding my “eye,” the portrayal of the world around me that is all my own. I can see it, own it as mine. There is huge confidence and satisfaction that comes with that. 
  • The discovery that photography is a passion for me. I love being in the moment. Finding the evidence of life – beauty, joy, love, happiness, even imperfection – all around me in the smallest of things.
  • I’ve become deeply aware of my art and creativity as an extension of my soul. It links to something at the core of my being, unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced.
  • The discovery that I can share this passion, this confidence and wonderful self-awareness I’ve gained, with others through writing on my blog and now with my Find Your Eye course. My “corporate world” skills are not completely unrelated to my passion, they can directly translate into great things in my creative, artistic life.
  • I’ve found that I’m a writer. I enjoy writing, like communicating ideas via words, having a conversation with others online. Combining words with photos has been an incredible source of creativity for me.
  • I’ve learned that following my heart – whether it’s in taking a photo, writing a blog post, taking a course of action – is never, ever wrong. It has always led to good things, even if everyone around me is not immediately happy about it. Following your heart is not about making other people happy. 
  • I’ve found an amazing community of people here on the internet – through the blogs I read, the people who read mine and comment, Mortal Muses, other groups and challenges I’ve participated in. I’ve found people who have similar interests and passions and challenge me in such positive ways. Those connections are incredible. I look forward to forming more of them, more interaction, more friendships as I continue on.

It’s good to take a moment, look back and see all of the gifts I’ve been given through this one step. I don’t think it matters whether you specifically do a 365 or post a photo a day or write three pages every morning or whatever it might be. I don’t think it even matters that it is every single day (I certainly haven’t done that here!). What matters is that you find a regular practice that you learn and grow from, and you stick to it long enough to see the benefits.

I can’t stop doing this now, posting a photo and some words most days on my blog. I would lose some important, integral piece of myself. This practice, for me, is a gift that keeps on giving.

Today’s 9 Muses Musing challenge is GIVING. Stop by and leave a comment or link up to win the giveaway.
Tomorrow is my challenge day for 9 Muses Musing, and it’s LIGHTS. I know, big surprise! Get those holiday light photos tonight if you can – I have a great giveaway you won’t want to miss!!

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Where Fiats Retire

Through the whole region around the Bay of Naples and the Amalfi Coast, we were amazed at the number of old Fiats that were still driving around. They are only seen rarely in the north of Italy, but here they were everywhere! We decided that this is where Fiats go to retire – southern Italy. Kind of like VW bugs in Mexico.

The Fiat 500 or Cinquecento (pronounced chink-quah-chen-toh) pictured above is the most common version, and it holds a special place in the hearts of Italians because it was so prevalent years ago. The less-commonly-spotted Fiat 600 or Seicento (say-chen-toh) holds a special place in our hearts, because we have one waiting for us in the US. It’s a 1960 Fiat 600 “Convertible” and it needs some work to be driveable. It will be our little piece of Italy when we get home, thanks to our good friend Jack.

The top photo of the Fiat 500 in Sorrento just seemed to need a bit of vintage treatment. Here are the details of what I did in Photoshop Elements:
1. Pioneer Woman “Seventies” Action (these are free actions, available here)
2. Levels layer to brighten and increase contrast
3. Hue/Saturation layer with saturation set to +11 to boost the color of the car, and make it stand out a bit more against the more neutral background.

One final reminder, don’t miss out on the Mortal Muses 9 Muses Musing holiday celebration, starting tomorrow through January 1! Each day, on the Mortal Muses blog, we will be announcing a special holiday prompt word as your daily photo/creativity assignment, along with a giveaway. Just link up your blog or a Flickr photo for that day’s assignment to be entered to win. A fun, free, no pressure way to stay creative during the holiday season! I hope to see you there.

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